Uniformed police officers
Although Nick Knight and his partners are detectives and work in plainclothes, it is the uniformed branch of the force that is most strongly associated with the concept of "police", and officers in uniform appear in many scenes in Forever Knight. Many of the extras (actors without speaking parts) are in uniform, whether controlling crime scenes or providing the background police presence in the police station. No regular character in Forever Knight is in the lower ranks of the uniformed branch. Most often mentioned (though never seen) is Officer Lipinski. Most often seen is Officer Miller. However, there are a number of other uniformed cops in small supporting roles: for some, their first names are all we know; for others, only their surnames. Such uniformed officers include: Dietrich in "Dark Knight"; Obregon in "Dead Issue"; Lewis in "Feeding the Beast"; Jenner in "A Fate Worse than Death"; Lang, Jenkins, and Melvyn in "Blood Money"; Vera in "Close Call"; Harry and Michelle in "Blind Faith"; and Griffin in "The Human Factor". Named uniformed sergeants include Lillian in "Capital Offense", and Mandrake in "Baby, Baby". Uniform The uniform worn by police officers in Forever Knight is typical of those worn on cop shows generally. Inside the station, they usually dispense with the jacket and hat, and are seen just in shirtsleeves. The basic uniform therefore consists of dark navy blue trousers (worn by both sexes) and a light blue shirt. This is usually long-sleeved; but a short-sleeved summer uniform shirt is seen in a number of episodes in Season One. A black tie is normally worn, though the short-sleeved shirt is often seen with the collar open and no tie. Most police officers use a tie clip. Shoes are black, laced up, and polished to a shine. There is a black leather belt with a square buckle; a gun holster is worn with this indoors as well as on outside duty. A nightstick is also attached to the belt. When on duty outside the police station, whether on foor or in a squad car, officers wear jackets and hats. They are sometimes seen dressed this way inside, or they may wear their hat indoors but take the jacket off. However, this is not as common as seeing them indoors in their shirtsleeves without the hat. When wearing jackets, police officers always wear ties. The jackets are black leather bomber-style jackets with zips. They are usually either worn open unzipped, or with the top few inches open and turned back like jacket lapels. The hat worn by uniformed officers is a peaked cap. The crown, band, and peak all appear to be black, though in some lights the crown has a bluish sheen suggesting that it might actually be dark navy. A large silver-coloured badge is worn on the band. Motorcycle cops wear a helmet instead of the peaked cap. This, of course, is for safety reasons. The uniform helmet is white, with a black peak, and a strap under the chin. The rest of a motorcycle cop's uniform is identical to that of other police officers. Badge A shield-shaped badge is worn on the left side of the jacket, just above the pocket. This seems to be embossed at the top, with a large number engraved across the bottom—presumably the officer's badge number. A similar badge is worn in the same position on the uniform shirt, so that the officer's badge is always visible whether they are wearing the jacket or not. In Season One, the badges worn on the shirt differ slightly from those in later seasons—not in the shape of the metal badge itself, but because the badge is mounted on a black background which looks like leather. The name of the officer appears underneath the badge. In subsequent seasons, the officer's name is put on a bar-shaped pin worn on the right side of the shirt or jacket, just above the pocket. Arm Patch Just as the badge is worn on both the shirt and jacket, so is an embroidered circular patch. It is sewn on the left sleeve of both the shirt and the jacket, on the upper arm just below the shoulder. The patch is worn above any rank insignia. It appears to be of cloth, with the pattern embroidered onto it. (It should be noted that this is not the same as the crest on the doors of squad cars, but a different pattern.) The patch has a narrow white ring around the very edge. Just inside are the words "Metropolitan Police" written around the rim of the patch in white capital letters: they do not quite take up all the space, and the circle is completed with a white arc. At the centre is a small light blue rondel, narrowly edged in white, with something at the very centre (which cannot be made out in detail). The area in between the rim and the rondel has a four-fold pattern: what look like gold crowns, separated by red areas tipped in blue. (However, the patch is normally seen only at a distance too great to see detail, so this description may be partly in error). The patch itself is the same design used in the Police Academy series of films. Precinct Pins Uniformed officers wear a pair of small metal pins, one on each side of the collar down near the point. Each pin has the number of the precinct to which the officer is assigned. The number is not engraved on a bar or stud; rather, the pin is in the shape of the conjoined numerals. In Season One, therefore, the pair of pins has the number "27"; and, in Seasons Two and Three, the pair of pins has the number "96". It is worth noting that all the police officers met outside the station also wear the same precinct pins. This indicates that all the cases in which Nick Knight and his partner are involved take place within the precinct. The motorcycle cop who tickets Schanke outside the Raven in "Close Call" wears "96" pins, indicating that the Raven lies within the bounds of the 96th Precinct. And the cop who chases the killers at the Civic Centre in "The Human Factor" wears "96" pins, indicating that the Civic Center is also within the bounds of the 96th Precinct. Sergeants Sergeants' uniforms are essentially the same as those of police officers of lower rank, except for the addition of insignia to show their rank. A patch is sewn on the sleeve, about halfway down the upper arm. On the patch are three nested chevrons of equal width, with the point facing down. The outline of the patch follows the chevrons, producing a sort of fat V shape. There are no rank epaulettes on the shoulders of the shirt. The patch is normally worn on the left sleeve of the shirt, underneath the "Metropolitan Police" patch. However, when a short-sleeved shirt is being worn, there isn't sufficient space to put the chevrons as well; so, in that case, the chevrons are put on the right sleeve instead. When outside the station, sergeants wear jackets and hats, as other uniformed police officers do. The sergeants' chevron patch is displayed on the jacket, again on the upper left sleeve and positioned immediately underneath the "Metropolitan Police" patch. There is no difference between the hats worn by sergeants and lower ranks—no added braid or the like. Real Toronto Police Although in Forever Knight the regular uniformed cops are called officer, the lower ranks of the real Toronto police force are called constable (first, second, third, and fourth class). Above these are the ranks of sergeant and staff sergeant (senior sergeant). The rank of "constable" is never used in Forever Knight. Leaving aside differences in the design of badges, patches, and such, the most visibly obvious difference between the uniforms in Forever Knight and those of the contemporary, real-world police force lies in the red trim on the uniforms of the latter. In the real Toronto, the trousers worn by the police have a narrow red stripe down the outer seam of each leg, and there is a red band around the hat. See also * Wikipedia article on the Toronto Police Service Category:Police force